Following the success of last year's event, The White Lion, Wilton are holding their second Real Ale and Cider Festival over Midsummer weekend. There will be a choice of twelve real ales available and six different ciders, including local Broome Farm cider.

The full White Lion menu will be available throughout the weekend, together with a barbecue, however, table reservations are essential. There will be seven performances of live music provided by The River Gypsies on Friday evening, Jocelyn, back by popular demand, the amazing Will Killeen and local duo Little Sister on Saturday. On Sunday the fantastic jazz outfit The Cliveden Set will entertain you, after which there will be a selection of songs sung by Gareth Wigg and an outstanding finale by very popular local band The Zebras.

Entrance is free, however donations to The White Lion's favourite charity, the Macmillan Renton Appeal will be most welcome. Jacqui and Dave and the rest of the team look forward to seeing you there.

If you are looking for something to do this evening, Wednesday 13th June, there are a couple of events which may be of interest to you.

Ross Lions Club is holding a charity quiz at Ross Conservative Club which will begin at 7:30 pm. Entrance is £2.00 per person and there are prizes to be won, including a prize for the most amusing team name. Why not go along and join in the fun whilst helping to raise money for charity?

For those interested in the paranormal, a spiritual evening is to be held at The Old Court Hotel, Whitchurch. This event also begins at 7:30 PM If you prefer a night in front of the television, Broome Farm, Peterstow is featured in BBC2's Natural World programme 'The Voices of the Wye Valley' to be screened at 9 PM

On Saturday morning at Ross Baptist Church a jumble sale is being held to raise money for the Seamens' Mission. If you want to find yourself a bargain, this event begins at 10 am.

On Saturday evening from 9 PM local, talented young rock band, Hazy Ray will be performing at The Prince of Wales. This band are very good and are building up quite a following.

Ross Town Band performed at the bandstand last Sunday afternoon and all those who attended enjoyed the music whilst relaxing in the sunshine with a picnic. Ross Town Council have funded a series of concerts by various brass bands to take place throughout the summer for your entertainment. They make no charge for the concerts, however, collections are made for local charities. This week the Sunday afternoon entertainment will be provided by The Metz Big Band.

It goes without saying that I love karaoke, so nobody was more delighted than me when manager of The Plough, Del said he was holding a karaoke night at the pub last Saturday. Del and Chris are a fun loving pair and many people turned up to join in with the singing or just to take the mickey out of those who had over inebriated their vocal chords.

Del has a great voice. He sings Neil Diamond songs even better than Neil Diamond and there were a few budding Elvises around, amongst others. I just sang my usual 'Crazy' (I'm not quite sure whether it is the song or just the title I have an affinity with) and then 'Stand by your man'.

After meeting up with a few friends and a quick dance with Rita we left but not before Alan was asked to take a photograph of Jan Jenkins and Deana Wooles trying to take the rise out of Ray.

Thanks for a great time Del. Let us know when you're having the next one and I'll do my best to be there.

After coming through earlier rounds in the 2006/7 Lions local Zone Games, the Ross Lions Club competed in the finals of the skittles and darts this week at Elwood Sports Club in the Forest of Dean. Knocking out Chepstow and Severn Dean Lions in earlier rounds, Ross came up against the Forest of Dean in the Skittles and Monmouth in the Darts on finals night.

With the help of their wives the Ross Lions came through successfully winning both events in hard fought matches. It was the fourth time in a row that the Ross Club had won the skittles cup but the darts cup had eluded them for some time. They made up for it this time, however.

The Lions Zone Chairman, Peter Radley, congratulated the club on their success and presented the Darts Cup to Lion Keith Wilding and the Skittles Cup to Lion Andrew Lerigo.

West Mercia Constabulary is working with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water in its fight to crack down on the career criminal distraction burglars who make a living preying on the vulnerable and elderly living in Herefordshire. Distraction burglary is a devastating and despicable crime, which in many cases leaves victims without their life savings and treasured personal possessions. Distraction burglars will use any means of deception to con their way into people's homes.

Currently the most common deception that distraction burglars are using is pretending to be from the water board. West Mercia has teamed up with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water to raise awareness about this deception and to give advice about how people can avoid being a victim of a distraction burglary.

Detective Inspector Adrian Todd said: "It is important that residents realize and remember that there is no such thing as the water board. If people work for a water company it will have a specific name and all this information will be on the caller's identity card. The force is working hard, through it's Knock Knock campaign, to raise awareness about the security measures people should take before they let anyone into their home or allow them to do maintenance work.

A crime prevention leaflet has been produced, which gives people more advice about what they can do to keep themselves safe. "People should not be afraid to ask callers for identification. If they are not convinced the caller is genuine they should call and check with the company concerned. A legitimate caller will not mind waiting outside while you check their identification our properly. If you are in any doubt do not let them into your home."

To help combat distraction burglary Dwr Cymru Welsh Water has created a special Bogus Callers Hotline to verify the identity of their representatives. Customers can also contact Dwr Cymru Welsh Water to have a password assigned to them. When a Dwr Cymru Welsh Water representative calls at their house, the customer asks the representative what the password is. The representative then calls a control centre to obtain the password and relays it back to the customer.

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water head of communications Sally Gronow said: "There have been several bogus caller incidents in our area recently, so it's important to remind customers of the dangers. Before opening the door to strangers, it's important to check that they are genuine. If you have any doubts - then keep them out. All our staff carry identity cards, which shows our Bogus Caller Helpline number, and should be asked to show them when they call. If any customer wants to verify the identity of the caller, please ring the Helpline on 0800 281 141.

We also operate a password system through our Additional Services Register, which can help protect our more vulnerable customers. It is a very effective, yet simple system, whereby a customer can choose a password and it will be given only to those of our staff who need to visit. The victims of this despicable crime are usually of a generation that always left their front door open. It is a generation that is willing to trust an official looking person and bogus callers prey on that," she added.

Bear the following advice in mind, it could help to reduce the chance of a distraction burglary happening to you or in your neighbourhood:

• Don't keep large sums of money in your home.
• Keep an eye on people calling in the area or acting suspiciously.
• Encourage vulnerable neighbours to keep their door on a chain and to check a caller's identity card carefully.
• Trust your instincts - if you have any doubt about a caller's identity don't let them in.
• Call 08457 444888 to provide information to the police about suspicious people, activity or vehicles however insignificant it may seem.
• If a distraction burglary has taken place or been attempted, encourage the victim to report it as quickly as possible.

For further information about preventing distraction burglaries and West Mercia' Knock Knock campaign please visit the force website www.westmercia.police.uk. Anyone interested in obtaining an 'In doubt? - Keep them out!' leaflet or requiring an Additional Services Pack to register for the password scheme can call the Dwr Cymru Welsh Water freephone publications helpline number on 0800 052 0138.

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